giovedì 15 settembre 2011

Living Infrastructure

Growing your own house may seem like a new idea, but what about growing pieces of functional infrastructure? That’s exactly what the locals of Nongriat in Meghalaya, India have been doing for the past 500 years. In that time, they’ve grown bridges over one hundred feet in length and strong enough to support the weight of more than 50 people. There are even “double decker” bridges! More after the jump!

Photo: Daily Mail
The fifteen meters of annual rainfall of the Cherrapunji region–a figure aggrandized by frequent flash floods–accelerate the flow of its rivers and streams, the fierceness and destructive power of which few wooden or steel bridges could withstand. Transport across the region’s numerous water channels is necessary, whether to return to one’s dwelling after fishing or clothes washing or to escape the dangers of one place to move to another. But how?
The locals’ answer lie in the sloping hills hugging the contour of the water channels, where a species of rubber tree flourishes. From the upper trunk of the ficus elastica, secondary roots grow outwards with great profuseness. The tribes people realized half a millenia ago that they could use these roots to forge a pass across the water below, using hollowed out betel nut trunks to guide the direction of the roots’ growth.
Once the roots make their way across the water to the opposite bank, they take hold. Here, they continue to grow and strengthen, not only stabilizing the bridge platform, but also reinforcing the bank walls. The full cycle of bridge-growing may take ten to fifteen years to complete, necessitating the locals’ aboricultural knowledge to be passed on from older to younger generations, who will, perhaps, personally continue the former’s work.
Fonte : http://www.architizer.com/en_us/blog/dyn/29362/living-infrastructure/

Forest Pavilion

nARCHITECTS’ Forest Pavilion - completed in May 2011 - serves as a shaded meeting and performance space for visitors to the Da Nong Da Fu Forest and Eco-park in Hualien province, Taiwan. The project was conceived within the context of an art festival organized by Taiwan’s\ Forestry Bureau to raise public awareness of a new growth forest that is being threatened by development. The pavilion is comprised of eleven vaults built with freshly cut green bamboo, a material first used by nARCHITECTS in the internationally acclaimed 2004 Canopy for MoMA P.S.1. As an extension of techniques developed in 2004’s Canopy for MoMA/P.S.1, the 60’ diameter and 22’ tall pavilion is built with green bamboo. Forest Pavilion was chosen to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the art festival, becoming a focal point for the park.
This new circular gathering space emerges from the ground in a series of eleven green bamboo shading vaults, organized in two rings around a void. The plan is inspired by the rings of a tree, and the different form of the vaults by growth patterns in nature. In the same way that the infinite variety of shapes in a tree emerge from very simple branching rules, the configuration of vault shapes uses a single geometry, the parabolic arch, in a way that could in theory generate endless configurations.
The pavilion is also designed to be used as a small outdoor theater. The circular ring of decking serves as either seating for spectators watching a performance in the central void space, or as a circular stage. nARCHITECTS’ mission was to design a landmark installation suited for the vast scale of its scenic site, while providing a sense of enclosure, shade, and seating for park visitors and various scheduled events. Forest Pavilion’s relationship to the existing site is diaphanous and light – the pavilion sits lightly in its environment with minimal disruption, yet with lighting becomes a beacon at night, underscoring the relative emptiness of the valley.
Hualien County is the traditional territory of the aboriginal Taiwanese Amis tribe. Used for sugarcane cultivation under Japanese rule and eventually passing into the Taiwanese government’s hands, the Forestry Bureau faced criticism for not involving local inhabitants in the planning and development of the Eco Park. While there is broad support for preserving the forest, there are also plans for development by the provincial government, including the construction of a casino. In recognition of the cultural diversity of the region, the pavilion’s vaults, each one presenting a unique ‘gateway’ into the meeting space, sought to formalize this diversity and suggest an opportunity for unity in support of a greater environmental benefit.